The Story of The Last Airbender
by Little Darling Jewels
Summary: After Zuko discovered Aang frozen in ice, they came up with a plan to take down Fire Lord Ozai. Now, four years later with Zuko as the new crowned Fire Lord and Aang as a fully-realized avatar and the last living airbender, the United Republic Council are demanding Aang find a bride to rebuild the Air Nomads... or they'll find one for him.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

 **Zuko discovered Aang frozen a glacier while voyaging the south pole on an expedition to kill off the last waterbender of the South Pole as by his father, Fire Lord Ozaiu's Demand. Zuko did not believe his father was a good man but did what his father asked or he suffered the repercussions, including the blistered scar over his left eye. After capturing Aang straight out of the ice, Zuko filled Aang in on the past 100 years, Aang was able to convince Zuko that they did not need to be enimies, that they could attack Ozai together to bring the Fire Lord down and end the war. They succeeded.**

 **Zuko and Iroh had been Aang's family ever since.**

 **Four years later, the United Republic Council demanded Avatar Aang to choose a bride before he turned the age of 18, worried that he would pass on early due to battle or Fire Nation retaliation; threatening to chose an arranged marriage for him and cut off his Avatar duties until there was a child on the way to save the Air Nomad Nation. This is his story.**


	2. I Eat or be Eaten

**I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

 **Chapter 1: Eat or be Eaten**

"...to rebuild the Air Nomad Nation or we will be forced to cut off his duties and find him a bride ourselves."

"So, you want to force Aang into an arranged marriage?" Zuko said slowly, letting Chief Arnook's words sink in.

I jolted awake at the mention of my name, my elbow that had been holding up my head slammed down hard on the table, cushioning my chin that plummeted with it. "What?" I choked. The Republic City Council all eyed me with pity.

"I know this is hard for you Aang, but it has to be done, your whole race is at stake." Chief Arnook of the Northern Water Tribe replied simply.

"I don't-" I started.

"No!" Iroh's voice boomed, echoing through the meeting hall. "Aang will not have an arranged marriage! I will absolutely not allow it!"

"Well unfortunately general," Arnook replied calmly, rising out of his seat at the head of the crescent-shaped table "You are not Aang's legal guardian and therefore, have no say of who Aang weds."

"Sit down Arnook, we are not finished." Chief Hakoda's voice boomed even though he spoke through clenched teeth, startling everybody. "As someone who has been through having a fraction of a nation destroyed I can only imagine how Aang is feeling and the memories of his people are being blown back in his face. You Arnook, still have all of your waterbenders. My _daughter_ is the final one born in the Southern Water Tribe. You don't see us forcing her into marriage _without her consent._ " He seethed, his beaded hair bouncing against his forehead and dark blue eyes frozen in a steely stare.

I just blinked in surprise. Hakoda had always been quiet and thoughtful, always careful with his words and coming up with carefully thought out solutions. His wisdom was remarkable. Hakoda was-dare I say- even more of a leader than Arnook, and he was certainly more respected.

"Aang will not have an arranged marriage and that is final." Hakoda finished, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger and sinking into his seat.

Arnook raised his eyebrows and, eyes unwavering from Hakoda's iron stare barked "Fine. The Avatar has 3 months to find a bride. If he fails to comply, the Republic Council will chose a non-bender for him to wed to save the Air Nomad Culture, as is his most important duty to the world. Failure to revive the Air Nomads will result in the end of the Avatar's cycle. We will host a ball in Ba Sing Se next week."

"Don't I get a say?" I demanded.

"I'm sorry Aang, I'm afraid that you don't. This is too important to the world to involve _feelings_." I wanted to knock the braids out of our leader's hair. I looked around.

Thirteen out of eighteen hands excluding Zuko, Iroh, Hakoda, King Kuei, and my own, went up.

Arnook locked eyes with me. "Three months. Dismissed."

Hakoda slowly lowered his head down onto the table, the muscles in his neck visibly tense..

I walked over to the Southern Water Tribe Chief. "Thank you for sticking up for me Chief Hakoda." I bowed and the chief raised his head and smiled wearily. "I am sorry that you lost your waterbenders, I had no idea the Southern Tribe was that damaged."

"Of course Aang, it's quite alright. It was a long time ago, but I know as a father, I would never force my daughter to marry against her will in fear that the south will never be rebuilt. I know it's different Aang," He placed a beefy hand heavily on my shoulder "My culture wasn't fully destroyed, but I did lose my sweet wife, Kya… I like to see the world through a father's eye.I know that this will be hard but if you ever need someone to talk to I am here, and you know where to write."

"I appreciate that sir." My voice thick with emotion.

"Dad!" A soft, feminine voice called across the meeting room. I saw a blur of coffee-colored hair fly by before the girl skidded to a stop in Hakoda's arms.

"Katara dear, I wasn't expecting you until the next meeting! What are you doing here!" I grinned as Hakoda hugged his daughter tightly.

"A couple Northerners agreed to help take my place and rebuild the South so I could see you early! I figured I could use all the tips I could get before representing the Southern Water Tribe's Rebuilding Plan!"

"Sweetheart, that is such a great idea, I am so proud of you!" Hakoda grinned down at the slender girl, her big cerulean eyes glistening with unshed tears.

She looked aside to wipe at her eyes and caught my stare. Her eyes widened and she dropped at the waist into a low bow. "Mr. Avatar sir, I apologize for interrupting you, I did not know that you were standing there." She stuttered, a dark blush slowly spreading over her cheeks.

 _Spirits, she is gorgeous._

I chuckled "Please ma'am, call me Aang. It is such an honor to be in the presence of the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. I have heard about the rebuilding project that you have taken on single-handedly. I cannot thank you enough for doing a part in helping with the Peace Project." I bowed down back to her. "Such an honor indeed Princess Katara." _And she's intelligent?_

She raised her eyes to mine timidly and took a slow breath. "I am sorry about what the Council said, forcing you into marriage like that. It's so unfair. You deserve to find happiness...Aang. Please, just call me Katara. We aren't nearly as formal as our sister tribe is."

"Katara," Hakoda crossed his arms and frowned disapprovingly. "That was a private meeting, you shouldn't be eavesdropping on the Council. It could get you into a lot of trouble." Katara hung her head, ashamed.

"Oh, it's quite alright Chief. I'm sure I can trust the Chieftain's daughter. There's nothing wrong with a little curiosity, but don't let Chief Arnook catch you, he has a temper." I flashed her a smile.

"My daughter has always be quite the little equal rights activist." Hakoda chuckled.

"Dad…" Katara's blush deepened.

"It's quite alright, I respect that. I believe that the first step to peace is seeing everybody else as equals." I replied knowingly. I understand where you are coming from, especially because of the Northern Water Tribe's rules on women bending. I promise I will do what I can to help abolish that law, but I would love your help in the matter if you have the time- with your father's blessing of course. I have heard about your rebuilding project and it is quite innovative from what I understand. I cannot wait to hear more about it during our next meeting."

"I think that is a great idea Aang!" Hakoda's voice bellowed, echoing off the walls as we began to exit the meeting hall. He threw an arm over his daughter's shoulders. "What do you say Katara? It would be a great pull for your Rebuilding Project to have The Avatar on your side."

Katara looked taken aback by my offer "It...it would be such an honor Ava-Aang." she stuttered.

"Wonderful!" I grinned ear to ear. "I do hope that I will be seeing you at the ball afterwards? Maybe your guy's company will make it a little less dreadful." I cringed at the thought of being social to hundreds of high maintenance aristocrat women.

"Of course Aang." Hakoda smiled. "We wouldn't miss it. You will get to meet my son Sokka, he will be next in line to be chief after I step down. I think it would be good for him to know what to expect surrounded by the Council at a public event."

"I couldn't agree more sir." I responded, turning around to shake hands with Hakoda and Katara.

 _Don't say something stupid Aang. Say something impressive._ I caught the eye of zuko standing in the hall, he caught my eye and jerked his head to the side motioning me to come meet him in the hall. I inwardly groaned but plastered a smile on my face anyways. "I wish I could stay and chat but I do have some matters to attend to with Fire Lord Zuko. It was a pleasure to meet you Ms. Katara." _Well, at least that wasn't stupid, but now you sound boring. Good job Aang, pat on the back._ To save myself the embarrassment I spun on my heel and strode down the hallway, falling in step with Zuko.

"What was that all about?" Zuko murmured through the corner of his mouth. He was staring straight ahead as he listened to Iroh and Arnook bicker about the Fire Nation fleet on the coast of the west side of the fire nation and what the best trading route is and didn't want to draw attention to them if he was called to help resolve it.

"Hakoda's daughter came a week early and surprised him." I replied with a shrug.

Zuko's eyes turn towards me abit, head still looking straight. "The one who is introducing that Rebuilding Project?" I nodded. "She's very intelligent to come up with that on their own. Even the Water Tribe Officials were shocked on how they could have missed that solution. Is she cute?" A slight smirk played on the Fire Lord's lips as he averted his eyes back to Arnook and Iroh. I nudged him swiftly with my elbow to his ribcage, smirking when I caused him to stumble. "What! You need a bride in three months now thanks to Chief Psycho over there."

I sighed and looked down. "I'm not ready to marry Zuko, I don't know what I am going to do." I picked at a loose thread on my monk's robes. I don't know the first thing about being in a relationship, let alone being a husband.

"Don't worry Aang." Zuko suddenly froze, his voice stiff but genuine as he turned to me. "I know this is going to be hard but I promise I will help you in any way that I can."

I smiled, even though it was strained. "Thank you Zuko, I appreciate that."

Zuko nodded and proceeded walking again. "I don't want to listen to all this trading bickering anymore. Let's go upstairs and talk to Mai about your whole 'husband to be' ordeal. She's an aristocrat lady, I'm sure she can give you tips on how to woo a girl. But seriously though, I heard Hakoda's daughter is gorgeous, is she?"

"Yeah" I smiled back as we started on the winding staircase to the palace's living quarters. "She's… she's very beautiful."

"So, let me just make sure I have this straight." Mai was sitting up unusually stiff, even for her. Her eyes bewildered. "Chief Arnook wants you to find a bride in three months or they will cut you off of your Avatar duties and set you up into an arranged marriage with a non-bender to better your chances of having Airbender offspring?" Zuko and I nodded. We all sat in a small dining nook and Iroh brewed tea to "calm the mind and settle the stomach." I hung my head, cradling the small cup in my hands.

"That's lame." Mai sunk in her chair as if the thought weighed a hundred pounds on her shoulders. She let her bangs fall into her face hiding her coal-colored eyes.

"Do you have any advice, Mai?" I said in a near whisper. "I know that it's my duty now to rebuild the air Nomad nation whether I want the responsibility or not but, I have zero experience with girls or dating. How am I supposed to find a bride when You and Ty Lee are the only girls I talk to?" I groaned and thonked my head down on the table next to my arm.

"Well, why not get together with Ty Lee?" Zuko suggested. I cringed. Ty Lee has had a thing for me for the past couple of years but I saw her as a sister. I knew way too much about her to ever want anything more than platonic.

"I don't think Aang could handle a relationship with Ty, as sweet as she is." Mai replied for me. I lifted my head to give her a thankful smile.

"Aang, it's going to be fine!" Iroh laid an understanding hand on my shoulder. He was the closest I have ever had to a father figure after Gyatso and My shoulder relaxed from the tension I didn't know they were holding. Iroh took my cup and poured me some more tea. "Drink" He demanded softly. "It will help, I promise." I complied and brought the porcelain to my lips. He was right, the tea was soothing as soon as it hit my stomach. Iroh sighed. "Look Aang, what you are doing is a very selfless act but it was not right for Arnook to propose what he did, especially without your consent. It was in fact, an immoral proposition. But you have three months to try to find someone that you could actually fall in love with. All Arnook cares about is rebuilding the nation as efficiently as possible. We will help you in any way we can, you just need to ask." Irohs eyes crinkled as he smiled down at me.

I looked around the table at my new family and smile too. "You're right, everything will be okay. I suppose it's time for me to start mingling." Everyone nodded at me in agreement.

"Better to have some choice than no choice." Zuko sighed, raising his tea cup. "To Aang, in the hopes that he will find someone he can fall in love with before time's up."

"To Aang!" Iroh and Mai chanted, raising their glasses in the air.


End file.
